NATO AND U.S. ECONOMIC INTERESTS
* The facts below are taken directly from the Atlantic Council's NATO's Value to the United States.
Looking beyond the purely military or security advantages of NATO, it is important to note that the alliance consists of nations that are some of the most important U.S. trading partners.
The United States had $699 billion in total bilateral trade with the European Union in 2015. That trade can occur only if the key ports and airfields supporting it are secure. NATO contributes significantly to that security. U.S. foreign direct investment in Europe was $2.89 trillion, while foreign direct investment from Europe in the United States totaled approximately $2.49 trillion. Every day, between two thousand and three thousand airline flights cross the North Atlantic. Again, NATO contributes to the security on which those flights rely. At least seven European countries are planning to purchase the U.S. F-35 fifth-generation aircraft. Together, European purchases of the F-35 could reach as many as five hundred aircraft. This will give Europe a significant fifth-generation fighter capability, which will allow Europe to play a much larger role in efforts to deal with Russia’s anti-access/area-denial (A2AD) threat, a capability designed to limit NATO’s ability of operate in key areas, such as the Baltic Sea region.
A United States divorced from NATO would also suffer direct economic consequences.
Trade losses from a hypothetical 50-percent retrenchment in global U.S. overseas commitments are estimated to reduce U.S. GDP by $490 billion per year. While this reduced presence would also create substantial savings, the net impact of this retrenchment is still estimated to reduce U.S. GDP by $350 billion per annum. RAND analysis indicates the hypothetical retrenchment in Europe (again, 50 percent of all security-treaty relationships and personnel commitments in Western and Eastern Europe) accounts for approximately $170 billion of the losses in GDP associated with reduced trade (this is 35 percent of the $490 billion total).
Evidence:
Hans Binnendijk and Magnus Nordenman. "NATO’s Value to the United States: By the Numbers." Atlantic Council. April 2018